The groundhog was released a bit over 2 miles away, but I really don't see it coming back, as I tied a cinder block to it and nailed it's head to a tree. Ok, maybe not. But it's like all uphill and this fat thing will likely tire out and get run over by a truck.
I used apples to catch it. Then the next day I caught a raccoon. I let that one go in the yard though because I kinda like them, even if they do attack the garbage now and again. They are a bit meaner than groundhogs, in theory. But if you wait until the end of the day they're usually pretty lethargic. He took off and hit the woods with no issue.
I've considered a BB gun, but with the kids in the house, what could possibly go wrong? I know when I was a kid I shot everything I could, up to and including shit on the neighbor's side of the hedge row.
The septic tank is going incredibly slowly. Very little has been done and at this point I just want it wrapped up so the yard can start growing grass before the ground freezes. At this pace, that's going to be in a few days. Though I admit today is a little of a warm uptick.
The weekend was 2 rides.
1. Saturday I went for a warm paced ride, just over an hour. I was tired from the week and really didn't have a lot of mustard. Decent pace but I'm sort of hitting that "good not great" stride and need some rest.
2. Sunday was a 3.5 hour social ride with the team. D took the picture:
Then Monday I took off. Ended up with 12.5 hours last week, so the past few weeks have been solid. This coming weekend is Whirlybird, which of course requires absolutely no running, so all the practice isn't going to amount to much of anything for now. Though admittedly I'm not expecting miracles. But to make it fun, looks like there may be some rain in the forecast for Saturday.
I'm not sad the weather is turning cooler. It's been a good summer and now it's about time for a good fall. After the septic is done we'll look for a guy to fix up the chimney, which we did not do last year. The previous owner never ran it, because apparently it wasn't in good shape. So it needs a bit of work. We have a lot of wood at this point, so we need to be able to burn it and stay inside.
Even houses that are in move-in condition can be a bit of a money pit at times. But then, this is why we work. Well, this is why you all work. Ok, this is why you all work, less Carson, who sits around in his taxi most of the time.
I think someone here recommended Tangled Webs, a book that I finished last night. Good read. I took my time with it, but it was worth the purchase. Sadly I have only read like 2 books in 6 months, falling well below the torrid pace I started the year at. I've also not been very good trying to teach myself French. In the end, there's too many things to do. Like that dude in the Far Side comic, my brain is full.
I made this with eggplants we got from the garden. In the end, the garden produced a lot of tomatoes but the fat groundhog ate everything else, minus the eggplant leaves. This was really tasty: